Shooting Zhu Xiao brought Lin Ye no burden at all.
If that man lived, he would seek revenge sooner or later.
Better to end the trouble now.
And if he didn't dare take revenge, he would still live in pain and regret.
Either way, Lin Ye had "helped" him end it.
Luo Gui had been battered by the seven-man siege, forced into a humiliating retreat.
The Calamity Ghost Sword's ghost howl couldn't kill people outright.
Moon Wheel experts could recover after a short time.
But Lin Ye had arrived.
His sword became death's scythe.
Shhk!
One elder was split in two.
The cut wasn't clean—like something had torn him apart with a demon's claws.
Blood sprayed. Organs scattered.
Lin Ye frowned.
Does this sword have to be this savage? Can't it just be sharp like a normal sword?
It had to be the Calamity Ghost Sword's nature.
One strike—one kill.
The remaining six froze.
They saw Zhu Jianxu and the others already dead.
Their faces drained.
How could it be like this?
Zhu Jianxu was Moon Wheel Seventh Layer—
A realm far beyond them.
And he still died?
"Retreat!"
They didn't say "run."
They said "retreat."
But they fled in pure panic, scattering in different directions.
The Plum Blossom Sword Sect disciples stared, hollow-eyed.
These were their elders.
Their Four Symbols Hall combat elders.
Elites among elites.
Now they fled like frightened birds.
Dignity didn't exist anymore.
But whether they could leave…
That depended on Lin Ye.
Boom!
A massive pressure surged outward.
A hundred-meter radius was sealed like an invisible wall.
Bang—bang—bang!
All six were rebounded back into the cage.
They had tried to imprison Lin Ye with an earth-vein cage earlier.
Now Lin Ye did the same to them.
"Coming when you want."
"Leaving when you want."
Lin Ye's voice was cold.
"Do you think that's how it works?"
The Mad Blood Curse had faded, but Lin Ye remained Moon Wheel Third Layer.
Among the six, the strongest was only Moon Wheel Second Layer.
And Lin Ye's star-forged Moon Wheel foundation was monstrous.
Holding them here was effortless.
The six panicked.
"Break the cage!"
They tried to join forces to smash the barrier.
Too slow.
Lin Ye was already there.
Shhk!
Another died—no resistance.
"Please… don't kill me!"
The next one screamed, terror overwhelming him.
Shhk!
Begging didn't matter.
Lin Ye tore him apart with one slash.
His body flickered, closing in on the remaining four.
"We'll fight you!"
They slammed into the cage again and again, realizing it wouldn't move even slightly.
The only option left—
Was a death fight.
They surged forward, desperate.
Lin Ye answered with one sword qi.
Nine Revolutions Asura Art.
Blood-asura pressure.
Calamity Ghost Sword's violent dominance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four bodies burst midair.
Flesh and organs rained down like gore-filled mist.
The sword felt like it was intoxicated.
Lin Ye could even sense it absorbing blood and vitality greedily.
That was it.
Everyone the Plum Blossom Sword Sect brought here—
Was dead.
All fallen in the Thousand Slaughter Riverlands.
This place truly was deadly.
Luo Gui stared at Lin Ye like he was watching a monster.
Just days ago, Lin Ye had needed multiple trump cards to kill Lu Chengxuan of the Seven-Star Mystic Sword Sect.
Now Lin Ye could detonate four Moon Wheel experts with a single strike.
If Lin Ye wanted to kill Luo Gui…
It would be one sword.
That's all.
His growth rate was terrifying.
If this continued, it wouldn't take long before he crushed the entire Central Riverlands.
Lin Ye sheathed the Calamity Ghost Sword.
It seemed thrilled—finally freed from endless years of confinement.
Finally able to release its killing nature.
Lin Ye tossed it into the Nine Nether Blood Sea, letting it nurture itself there.
For daily use, he returned to his Cold Iron Sword.
The Calamity Ghost Sword had once relied on the gorge's formation support to create such overwhelming pressure.
Now it needed blood—constant blood—to recover its former peak.
Lin Ye wasn't in a rush.
That blade was too demonic.
If it recovered too quickly, he might not be able to control it.
A weapon had to be obedient.
If it was stronger than its master, it became danger.
Many cultivators had been devoured by their own weapons before—turned into crazed slaughterers.
Lin Ye swept his mystic energy out and collected every storage ring without exception.
Anything valuable—he kept first.
Then he turned to Luo Gui.
"Let's go."
The two left without sparing Wu Yao and the surviving disciples another glance.
Lin Ye killed Zhu Xiao because that man would become a revenge threat.
As for the others?
Lin Ye didn't care.
Before leaving, Luo Gui tossed back one line in a low voice:
"You should all leave the sect early."
"Otherwise, the Plum Blossom Sword Sect will get wiped out sooner or later."
The two vanished like grim reapers walking away.
On their way out, they also took one of the sect's large ships.
Not because bigger was always better—
But because bigger was always more expensive.
Wu Yao stood among the wreckage, eyes dark.
A disciple trembled.
"Senior Sister Wu Yao… what do we do?"
The strongest among them had been Wu Yao, Zhu Xiao, the Young Sect Master, and his group.
Now everyone was dead.
Only Wu Yao remained capable of leading.
All eyes turned to her.
"We gather the intact bodies we can."
"Record everything truthfully."
"Send word back to the sect."
"Then we leave this place immediately."
"Otherwise, whether it's those two… or the Heavenly Nether Sect… we won't survive."
Wu Yao swallowed a healing pill, suppressing her injuries.
Then she calmly placed Zhu Xiao's body into a corpse bag—
And quietly removed his storage ring.
Lin Ye had collected the elders' rings.
But he had ignored Zhu Xiao's.
Not forgotten—just beneath his notice.
Wu Yao wouldn't waste the chance.
And she had started thinking about Luo Gui's advice.
Was it time to leave the Plum Blossom Sword Sect?
After all, Lin Ye had just killed an enormous number of their high-level combat elders.
Four Symbols Hall had lost a quarter of its veteran strength.
This was catastrophic.
If the sect did nothing, the sect would lose face and morale.
But if the sect did something…
They would chase Lin Ye.
They would collide again.
And the outcome?
Terrifying.
Luo Gui's warning wasn't empty.
He had seen through the future.
Wu Yao looked at the survivors and made her choice.
Leaving might be the only way to live.